Archive for the ‘Libraries’ Category

Libraries are files written in C or C++ which provide sketches with extra functionality, for example the ability to control an LED matrix, read an encoder, connect to a sensor, display, or module, etc. They are very useful to lower the barriers for creating amazing interactive projects and use a wide range of components. Libraries can be created by everyone and shared with the open source community!

To use an existing library in a sketch you can use the Library Manager (available from IDE version 1.6.2), open the IDE and click to the “Sketch” menu and then Include Library > Manage Libraries and follow the Guide on this page. (more…)

Scratch allows kids (and everyone) to create their own games, interactive stories, and animations using a visual programming environment. Scratch is made by the Lifelong Kindergarten (LLK) group at the MIT Media Lab. The ScratchX.org site is a place for trying out new, experimental extensions to Scratch — e.g. for connecting to hardware or web services. As a member of both Arduino and LLK, I’m especially excited about this possibility to combine Scratch with Arduino. (more…)

[srejbi] shares a new, programming-free, API-based way to programming Arduino: the APDuino project (minimum hw requirements: Arduino Mega 2560 + W5100 EtherShield). The Apduino relates to a peculiar approach towards Arduino that I noticed in the last years: using Arduino and making things without coding. This is a good thing for people that can’t code, but has to be simpler than learning code itself.

The APDuino Project provides a turn-key software solution for building custom monitoring and automation systems with custom rulesets (featuring expression evaluator with access to sensor and control arrays), cron-like scheduler, remote access and management via HTTP, SD and online logging and more…

All *without* programming (if using supported hardware components) … allowing DIY’ers to build their own automation systems much quicker and easier.

— The image collage attached is showing parts of 1 realization I built (I have 4 completely different systems running, all using the same software :)) — This one pictures an aquaponics monitoring system with 16 physical sensors (lots of 1-wire DS18B20’s chained, DHT-11, photoresistors, HY-SRF05 with mechanically inverted reading surface providing tank level monitoring, radio-controlled sockets allow pump and fan controls).

Nice Grasshopper-to-Arduino plotter hack from FablabTorino maker Pietro Leoni, a collabotator at Carlo Ratti Associati studio in Turin. We’d love to see code & sketches online soon, as much as a second edition of the plotter.

In his blog, Charalampos describes his experience with SeeedStudio’s Grove Ear-clip Heart Rate sensor and Cosm (former Pachube) cloud service. The employed sensor is quite cheap and can detect heart pulses from the ear lobe, by measuring the infra-red light reflected by the tissue and by checking for intensity variations.

By connecting this sensor with an ADK board and, in turn, with an Android smartphone, Charalampos implemented a portable heart-rate tracker, which is used to send the recorded data to Cosm cloud service.

[...] The AIR Native Extension (ANE) is a C based .DLL / .framework for the Windows/Mac platforms that allows AIR to essentially open a COM port. I wrote it in a way that is supposed to emulate the functions of the flash.net.Socket library that is included in the AIR runtime. I’ve posted the entire project, including the source code and final binaries on Google Code at http://code.google.com/p/as3-arduino-connector/

[Robotgrrl] shared a super-userful way to import Arduino Data to Mac applications, with tutorials and examples.

We created Matatino, a framework that lets you communicate between your Mac applications and your Arduino, You can follow our tutorials to get started with adding Matatino to your project. To see Matatino in action, check out Meters for Arduino. We will be adding more examples, libraries and tutorials for the Android ADK, iOS Redpark Serial Cable, Processing and OpenFrameworks in the future! You can stay informed about updates through RobotGrrl’s blog Apps4Arduino category feed.